PA convenes to discuss Jordan Valley annexation bill

The Palestinian Authority cabinet convened its weekly meeting in the Jordan Valley on Tuesday to protest an Israeli bill to annex the area.

Headed by PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the village of Ein Al-Beida, the PA ministers applauded the Palestinian people for their steadfastness in light of the Israeli government's crimes against them.

The Jordan Valley is a non-negotiable part of the future State of Palestine and not a "single span of the hand of this area is for rent or swap," the ministers said.

A ministerial committee was created to report to the Ministry of Planning about the most urgent developmental projects in the Jordan Valley and the cabinet decided to allocate 15 million shekels ($4.3 million) for agricultural, energy, cultural and medical projects in the area.

Israel's Channel Seven reported Sunday that a Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted in favor of a bill that would annex the entirety of the Jordan Valley.

Four ministers approved it and three opposed it, the report said.

The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the Palestinian West Bank.

Over 94 percent of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area is prohibited for Palestinian use, with the land either declared a closed military zone or reserved for illegal Israeli settlements.